


Of Course

by sappiestlady



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, other losers are mentioned - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sappiestlady/pseuds/sappiestlady
Summary: Eddie knows Richie isn't okay, but he doesn't know what to do when that comes to a head.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Of Course

Eddie knew, deep, deep down, that Richie wasn’t okay.

Richie had this facade. This “haha I fucked your mom” facade that everyone bought, or at least pretended to buy. Eddie was sure that the rest of the losers could see right through it but, like Eddie, didn’t know how to react or help.

Eddie really wished he had a better plan in place in case a situation with Richie arose.

Which is what exactly happened, because of course.

Almost a year after defeating IT, Eddie and Richie were sitting on the sidewalk, enjoying the spring sun that conveniently came with spring break week. It rarely happened in Maine, but Eddie and Richie could wear shorts and t-shirts and not worry about the cold. The rest of the losers were supposed to meet them, but things had come up. Mike was doing chores, Bev and Ben were on a date, and Stan and Bill were doing spring homework together. 

Therefore, Richie and Eddie were alone for the afternoon.

Things had changed, recently. After the first time sharing the hammock, they began sharing the hammock more often. The other losers never mentioned it, but Eddie couldn’t ignore the smiles they exchanged when Richie fell asleep and Eddie gently kicked his glasses off onto his chest.

Eddie had noticed changes in Richie, too. 

He had days where he was more subdued, more tired. Like when he fell asleep in the hammock or in English class or only made three sex jokes in a minute. Eddie rarely said “beep beep Richie” on those days, sometimes he said it to just say it. Eddie wished he could say those days were few and far in between, but they were getting more and more frequent. 

Today, Richie’s mouth was going a million miles an hour. He was talking about everything from the amount of dents in the car across the street to his opinions on the most recent movie he had seen to how much he hated his current math teacher. Eddie felt extremely content, watching him as Richie moved and talked like an animated character, smiling and laughing at his own jokes. Eddie felt himself laughing along with him, laughing at nothing in particular as tears formed in his eyes from the force of it.

Which is why it was heartbreaking when it all fell apart.

A car backfired, or a shop door slammed too loud, or whatever happened to cause a loud enough noise to make the both of them jump. Richie flinched so hard he choked on his words, bringing his hands to his chest with a thud. Eddie felt his heart rate jump as he was surprised, but he didn’t flinch as hard as Richie.

“Weird.” Eddie said. “What were you saying?” He turned to Richie and paused.

Richie was biting his lip, hugging his arms to his chest as he choked on his breath. His face was pale, his eyes even larger behind his coke-bottle glasses.

“Richie?” Eddie whispered.

Without saying anything, Richie stood and began sprinting. It took Eddie a few seconds to react before he stood, turning to run after him.

“Richie!” Eddie shouted.

Richie didn’t react, if he even heard him. Richie’s long legs pumped under him, moving faster than Eddie could ever hope to. Eddie felt his chest close up, but he fought against it, trying to ignore the fact that he didn’t have his inhaler. He didn’t actually need his inhaler, so why was his chest tight?

He followed Richie for a few more blocks before Richie disappeared into the woods towards the clubhouse. Eddie followed, his little legs moving as quickly as he could. He could see Richie run into the clubhouse, slamming the door behind him. Eddie followed, trying to open the door.

“Richie! Are you okay?” Eddie asked.

Eddie opened the door, rushing in. Richie was already in the hammock, glasses knocked to the side, hands pressed to his face. Eddie approached him slowly, trying to ignore how the noises Richie was making made his heart hurt.

“Richie?” Eddie said softly. 

Richie shook his head, letting out a whimper. Eddie stood next to the hammock, trying to figure out what to do. Richie always knew what to do with Eddie, when the time arose. Eddie hadn’t experienced whatever this was before, and Richie didn’t seem too happy about the fact that Eddie was here.

“Rich, what’s wrong?” Eddie whispered.

“I just wanted to leave.” Richie spat, stuttering and whimpering. 

“It’s okay to be scared.” Eddie said.

“I’m not scared.” Richie said, curling in on himself more.

“You are, and it’s okay!” Eddie said, grabbing on to the side of the hammock.

“No, I’m not!” Richie shouted, bringing his hands away from his face. His eyes were red, his face flushed as his lower lip trembled. Eddie felt his heart drop.

“Oh, Richie, don’t cry…” Eddie said. 

Richie bit his lip, squeezing his eyes shut as he let out another whimper. His chest began heaving with the force of his sudden sobs, making the hammock shake in Eddie’s hands.

Eddie scrambled into the hammock, planting his knees on either side of Richie before pulling him into a hug. Richie kept crying, his thin body shaking in Eddie’s arms. Richie pressed his head into Eddie’s shoulder and sobbed, his arms squished between his chest and Eddie’s. 

Eddie moved a hand to the back of Richie’s head, massaging the curls as Richie had done for Eddie countless times before. Richie’s chest was still heaving and he was taking gasping breaths, but he was slumped against Eddie, no longer tense.

“You’re okay, don’t cry…” Eddie said, combing his hands through Richie’s curls.

“I’m trying.” Richie said. 

“It’s okay. Take your time.” Eddie whispered again, pressing the side of his face to the top of Richie’s head.

Richie leaned backwards into the hammock, taking Eddie with him. After adjusting, himself, Eddie was lying almost entirely on top of Richie, arms still around him. Richie pressed his face into Eddie’s neck, his cries making Eddie’s heart hurt.

“You can be scared, you’re allowed to be.” Eddie said. 

“No.” Richie’s voice was thick as he fisted the front of Eddie’s shirt. 

“Yes, dipshit. You don’t have to be okay all the time.” Eddie said, “We are here for you. I am here for you. I promise.”

Richie looked up to him, wide eyes magnified by his glasses. He sniffed and bit his lip.

“I need to help you guys.” Richie said softly. 

“We can help you too, though.” Eddie said, raking his hands through Richie’s curls. 

“I held it together for so long.” Richie said after a moment.

“But you didn’t have to. We were always here for you, no matter what.” Eddie said.

“You mean it?” Richie said.

“Yeah, Rich. Of course.” Eddie said. 

Richie sighed and closed his eyes, dropping his head onto Eddie’s chest. Eddie continued to run his fingers through Richie’s hair, even as Richie’s breath evened out and his arms around Eddie’s chest began to weaken. 

“Let’s take a nap.” Eddie said softly.

“Lets.” Richie said, leaning back in the hammock once again.

In the spring sunlight, in the stillness of the empty clubhouse, lying in each other's arm, everything could be okay again.

**Author's Note:**

> bleargggghhhh :)  
> I kinda like it ngl but not my best work.


End file.
